Varied rules for overweight air travelers

Updated 11:01 am, Sunday, November 11, 2012

People who are planning to fly during the holidays and might not fit in one seat should check their airline's policy regarding oversized customers.

These policies, which are not regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, vary by airline and change frequently as passengers get larger, seats smaller and tempers shorter.

"No pun intended, this is a growing problem," said George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com. Hobica posted a chart summarizing airlines' "customer of size" policies last week after getting complaints from readers about people "spilling into their seats." You can find the chart at tinyurl.com/bkdkxgt, but it's best to check with your airline because policies change.

Southwest Airlines changed its customer-of-size rules last week. Under its long-standing policy, Southwest requires customers who can't fit between the armrests to buy an extra seat, although this has not been consistently enforced. Customers of size who didn't pay for a seat in advance had to purchase one at the airport if staff determined they were too large for one seat.

In both cases, Southwest offered to refund the cost of the extra seat. Before Wednesday, its published policy said it would refund the cost if the flight was not oversold, but in practice, Southwest refunded the extra seat "100 percent of the time," Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz said.

Under its new policy, Southwest no longer requires customers who show up at the airport without having reserved an extra seat to pay for one if staff determines it is needed. Southwest made this change after a technology workaround allowed it to assign seats at the gate that had not been paid for, Mainz said.

Southwest also changed its published policy to state that customers of size can always get a refund for the extra seat, even if the flight was overbooked.

Oversize passengers who want to reserve the extra seat in advance will still have to pay for it, but can request a refund. Southwest encourages them to book ahead so it can accommodate all passengers and avoid unpleasantness.

Overbooking

If a flight is overbooked, the airline will follow its standard boarding procedure. "The way it happens today, the last person to check in, if we have already given away the seats, is denied boarding. If you are denied boarding, you have certain rights and are entitled to denied-boarding compensation," Mainz says.

If the last person to check in requires two seats and only one is available, he or she will be treated like any other passenger denied boarding. If the last person to check in needs only one seat and none is available, the airline will not bump an oversized person occupying two seats, even if one of those seats has not been paid for. The airline typically offers an incentive for people to give up their seat before bumping people involuntarily.

For the full policy, see tinyurl.com/d8j55cf.

Taking heat

Southwest, which has open seating and no first class, has taken heat for its treatment of large passengers.

In 2010, independent filmmaker Kevin Smith sent a series of tweets saying he had been kicked off a plane for being too fat.

Smith had purchased two seats on a flight from Oakland to Burbank, but was allowed to board an earlier flight standby. However, the captain decided he was too large for one seat and ordered him off the plane because no other seats were available. Smith maintained that he was not too large for one seat because he could buckle the regular seat belt.

Southwest later apologized and gave him a $100 voucher but reiterated its policy, which requires customers to get an extra seat if they cannot squeeze within the 17 inches between armrests, even if they can buckle the belt.

Kenlie Tiggeman, a New Orleans weight-loss blogger, sued Southwest this year after allegedly being told at the gate she needed to buy a second seat. She also thought she could fit in one.

Tiggeman told media she wasn't seeking money; she only wanted Southwest and other airlines to adopt a uniform policy and enforce it consistently. A federal judge dismissed the case last month after Tiggeman missed a deadline for responding to Southwest's request for the case to be thrown out.

Hobica says some airlines have no policy and those that do enforce them haphazardly because employees "don't want to be the fat police."

Other airlines

Virgin America says on its website, "We ask that our larger guests purchase two seats. In the event that the flight departs with an empty seat, we are happy to refund the cost for the extra seat to that guest upon request."

United Airlines says larger customers must purchase an additional seat unless they can properly attach a seat belt with one extension and if necessary, remain seated with the armrests down for the entire flight (even if seated next to a family member) and "not significantly encroach upon the adjacent seating space." It does not appear to offer refunds.

The Department of Transportation does not get enough complaints from or about overweight passengers to track them separately, said Bill Mosley, a spokesman for the department.

By law, airlines cannot deny boarding to passengers because of their disabilities, but "we don't have any rules that address overweight passengers," he added. Even if an obese person is considered disabled, the airline is not required to provide a free seat or an upgrade to a larger seat.

Hobica said the simple solution would be for airlines to provide a couple of rows of extra-wide seats and charge a slight premium, the same way they sell seats with extra legroom.

Airbus recently said in a press release it will offer extra-wide seats on its A320 planes, "providing adequate space for those who need it, while giving airline operators a new method to generate additional revenue." Instead of having three 18-inch seats in a row, the new arrangement will have one 20-inch and two 17-inch seats.

Hobica says passengers worried about themselves or encroaching passengers should "print out a copy of the airline's rules" and show them to employees if a problem arises.